my fix of the K-30 aperture problem without disassembly

I went to use my K30 a few years ago at my kid's grandmother's 100th birthday. I don't do much photography these days but still have a really nice 50mm 1.4 lens which is great for this sort of thing.

And nothing...

Lucky I'd followed my old mentors advice and taken a spare camera (the K200D that I first learnt SLR photography on) so a total disaster was averted (spose I could have used my phone for photos lol).

Then I tried the K30 again about a year ago (same issue - no surprise) and then researched the issue.

Tried this fix after buying the AA battery adapter. Well it works. Sort of.  If I keep the aperture closed down or even half open it will work. But unfortunately with my 50-200mm 2.8 or the 50mm 1.4 it's pretty useless

Contacted Pentax in Australia. $190 to fix the camera. Or buy a "mint-used" K-5 for around twice that (so I can still use my lens). Thoughts?

tonydav wrote:

Contacted Pentax in Australia. $190 to fix the camera. Or buy a "mint-used" K-5 for around twice that (so I can still use my lens). Thoughts?

$380 for a near mint K-5 doesn't sound bad, but I'd suggest a K-5IIs instead if you can find one.

The Squirrel Mafia wrote:

tonydav wrote:

Contacted Pentax in Australia. $190 to fix the camera. Or buy a "mint-used" K-5 for around twice that (so I can still use my lens). Thoughts?

$380 for a near mint K-5 doesn't sound bad, but I'd suggest a K-5IIs instead if you can find one.

Tony,

Leederville Cameras in Perth seem to be selling new K5ii and K5iis bodies. Maybe snap one up?

https://www.leedervillecameras.com.au/cameras/dslr-cameras/pentax-dslr/

(although I have been wondering if those are placeholders on the website for... K-5iii / K-5iiis ?!? ... "wouldn't that be nice..." )

Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect information on the ABF issue.

First, the last thing that should be done with an ABF issue is rapid firing of the shutter.  The magnetic strength of the bad solenoids is too strong. Rapid firing of the shutter has been known to damage the mechanical mechanism.

Second, Pentax has updated the defective solenoids and they can (and should) be used to repair the camera.

Third, The K70 never suffered from this issue in any real numbers.  Pentax fixed the issue early in the K70 release and all new K70 cameras after 2016 have the newer solenoid.  This is a non-issue at this point.

There is no reason to be skittish about the K70 cameras anymore.

Russ Miller wrote:

Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect information on the ABF issue.

First, the last thing that should be done with an ABF issue is rapid firing of the shutter. The magnetic strength of the bad solenoids is too strong. Rapid firing of the shutter has been known to damage the mechanical mechanism.

Second, Pentax has updated the defective solenoids and they can (and should) be used to repair the camera.

Third, The K70 never suffered from this issue in any real numbers. Pentax fixed the issue early in the K70 release and all new K70 cameras after 2016 have the newer solenoid. This is a non-issue at this point.

There is no reason to be skittish about the K70 cameras anymore.

I think the most common understanding is that the new solenoid used in the K-70 is "improved", but not to the standard of the original, as used in the pre-K30 entry-level models.

Faulty K-70 solenoids are fairly rare, but have been reported.  Best to use the camera regularly, as that may well keep the failure at bay...

I disagree. One of the PF members did electrical testing on the latest solenoid, and it was fully in spec with the original. Not an issue to be concerned about anymore.

Russ Miller wrote:

I disagree. One of the PF members did electrical testing on the latest solenoid, and it was fully in spec with the original. Not an issue to be concerned about anymore.

"Electrical testing"?  Will this be able to predict reliability (of what is, after all, a very elusive electro-mechanical issue)?  Doesn't the original green solenoid also meet electrical specification?